In the field of electronic ID (identification) recognition, various applications have been developed using smart cards and radio frequency identification (RFID) cards for recognizing/verifying the ID of an individual for particular purposes.
In general, a smart card includes various components such as an integrated chip that has a microprocessor, an operating system, a security module, memory, etc. The integrated chip is embedded in the smart card and operates to process specific transactions. There are various types of smart cards including contact type smart cards, contactless type smart cards and hybrid type (both contact and contactless) smart cards.
Typically, a contactless type smart card system includes a contactless card reader and a contactless smart card. The contactless card reader generates an electromagnetic signal having a predetermined frequency. When the contactless smart card is activated, the contactless smart card waits for an instruction signal from the contactless card reader. The contactless smart card sends a response signal to the contactless card reader in response to the instruction signal when the instruction signal is correct. When the contactless card reader does not receive any response from the contactless smart card for some predetermined period of time (as specified by a standard specification), communications between the contactless smart card and the contactless card reader are terminated.
Various standards have been specified for smart card devices and applications. For instance, ISO/IDE 10536 and ISO/IEC 14443 are specifications that have been developed for contactless smart cards. Moreover, a contact type smart card is defined in ISO/IEC 7816. A contactless IC card is defined in ISO/IEC 10536, and a remote coupling communication card is defined in ISO/IEC 14443.
In general, logic testers have been developed for testing the status (defective/nondefective) of smart cards during the manufacturing process. In particular, for a contact type smart card, a conventional logic tester includes a pattern generator and a pattern comparator for testing the status of a contact type smart card. A conventional logic tester for a contact type smart card is interfaced to the smart card via a wired connection (cable connection to an input/output terminal of the smart card), and generates a logic pattern that is transmitted to the smart card via the wired connection, and analyzes a response pattern received from the smart card over the wired connection. These conventional logic testers cannot interface with contactless type smart cards.